How do you define the perfect July read? Is it a novel set at the beach in the midst of a blistering heat wave? The saga of a summer fling that has the potential to turn into something more? The story of a lost soul breaking out of stagnation before everything changes in the fall? With a million different directions we could go for July, Lauren and I knew three things: it needed to be a story you could get lost in, one you could picture yourself reading wherever the summer takes you, and one that made you feel seen and understood, in, quite literally, the height of the second busiest season of the year (shout to the holidays). After agonizing over this pick, we wound up with two choices. Unable to break the tie amongst ourselves, we turned to you. Similar to our May pick, we gave members the opportunity to select our July book with a blind vote. Last time, you all led us to Real Americans, so we knew we could trust you here, too. And we’re so glad we did. In July, we’re reading Love by the Book by Jessica George, the bestselling author of Maame. You can get your copy right here.
One of the more unexpected challenges of adulthood is navigating the changing nature of our friendships. Whether we’re progressing through life’s stages at different paces (hello from this first mom of the friend group) or simply growing apart as we grow older, our social lives change so much throughout our 20s and 30s. We lose friends, we struggle to make new ones, and we sometimes find ourselves adrift. In Love by the Book, Jessica George introduces us to two women, one whose friend circle has fallen apart, and another whose career affords her no time for a robust social life. It’s a powerful story of friendship and platonic love, and we can’t wait to dive into it with you. Here’s everything you need to know about our July pick, Love by the Book.
Our July Book Club Pick: Love by the Book
In Jessica George’s heartwarming, funny, and soulful second novel, she explores the restorative nature of female friendship and the life-changing power of platonic love.
Meet Remy, the bestselling author of a novel based on her three best friends. With her agent and publisher begging for a follow-up, Remy’s creative inspiration has vanished. One of her friends moved to New York, one is pregnant, and one just got back together with her terrible boyfriend. When a questionable one-night stand leaves Remy in an even more complicated situation, she’s left deeply alone.
Simone, a passionate Kindergarten teacher with a well-paying side hustle that allows her to afford the material comforts she desires, is successful, albeit busy. But that’s OK, Simone doesn’t need a huge social life, she has her close-knit family… until the true nature of her work is revealed and they cut her off, that is. For the first time, Simone realizes just how isolated she is.
When Simone and Remy literally bump into each other in a bookstore, it isn’t exactly the platonic meet-cute of friendship dreams. Simone is guarded, Remy is insecure, and each woman is harboring a secret. But if they can let each other in, they just might be the missing piece the other has been searching for.
Love By The Book is heartwarming, funny, and delves into the restorative nature of female friendship and the powerful role platonic love can play in our lives. We hope it’s the kind of book that inspires connection, community, and gratitude among our readers.
When is the book club meeting?
Our meetings will take place on the final Thursday of every month, where we’ll dive deep into every thought, theory, and feeling about the book—gently guided by discussion questions we’ll send out the week prior so you have plenty of time to gather your thoughts.
JOIN US: July 30, 2026, at 7:30 PM CST. Reserve your spot at the meeting and get the Zoom link here!
Sign up for our email list to receive the discussion questions early!
And don’t worry. There will still be plenty of time for the reading-related tangents we all love to spiral into. If you can’t make it one month, that’s okay, we’ll continue the conversation online through the Book Club BFF group, so you’re always in the loop.
Love by the Book Discussion Questions
- What star rating did you give Love by the Book?
- Did you connect more with Remy or Simone? What made you gravitate toward one character over the other?
- The story alternates between Remy and Simone’s perspectives. How do you think this affected your opinions of each character?
- Remy is navigating the fallout of a fractured friend group. Did her experience with adult friendships feel relatable? Why or why not?
- Simone, meanwhile, is navigating a fallout with her family that has left her completely isolated. What was it about Remy that allowed Simone to finally invite a friend into her life? Do you think they were good friends to each other?
- This book focuses on the power of platonic love and how impactful female friendships can be. We see Remy fall into depression when her friend group breaks up, and Simone struggles to let a new friend into her life as an adult. Did this portrayal of friendship resonate with you?
- This book also deals with a few heavier topics: depression, sex work, and an accidental pregnancy. How do you think the book handled these topics? Is there anything you wish was done differently?
- Was there a moment, scene, or quote that has stayed with you since finishing the book?
- What do you think the book is ultimately trying to say about love, friendship, and finding yourself?
What is The Everygirl Book Club?
The Everygirl has been recommending and reviewing books for years, delivering our unfiltered opinions on what’s worth your time—from the buzzy books TikTok can’t shut up about to debut authors you have to know. After years of connecting with our readers through a shared love of books, we were craving a space where we could hear more directly from you and, instead of just telling you what we’re reading, actually read together. The Everygirl Book Club is a monthly book club with a reading pick (carefully vetted and chosen by yours truly), which we’ll all read together, chitchatting in our BFF Group while we binge, culminating in our monthly live book club discussion. Between meetings, you can also look forward to plenty of book recommendations and hilariously relatable bookish content (not to toot our own horn). More than anything, The Everygirl Book Club is a community by readers, for readers.
You can trust our recommendations
Worried you won’t love the read one month? We get it, your time is precious, and you don’t want to waste it reading a book that feels like a chore to finish. But rest assured, we are committed to choosing books we know our readers will love. Our picks will span genres, so depending on the month, you may be diving into your favorite category or stepping slightly outside your comfort zone. What you can always trust is that every book is hand-selected by a team of readers who are just as obsessed with reading as you are. We can’t wait to hear what you think.
What’s next?
So now that you’re caught up on all things The Everygirl Book Club, what’s next?
- Sign up for our exclusive Book Club email list to be the first to know everything
- Follow us on Instagram and join our Bumble BFF Group to join the conversation
- Grab your copy of Love by the Book and get to reading!
We hope to see you at the meeting, but until then, let’s chat online!
Garri James, Senior Managing Editor
As Senior Managing Editor of The Everygirl, Garri oversees the pitching, planning, and creation of all content. Garri has experience writing and researching across many different niches, including news, beauty, fashion, history, sports, and pop culture. Garri has been writing about books on The Everygirl since 2021.
